The 2025 NFL preseason is wrapping up and that means fantasy football draft season is underway. We finally made it people.
The key to assembling a roster that could carry you to your league’s championship game in January is hitting on the sleeper picks that you make in August, and that especially applies to the wide receiver room that you put together for your roster. The league is chalk full of quality receiver options these days and even if you miss out on drafting a game-breaker like Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson, there will still be tons of quality options as your draft rolls into the later rounds.
Those potential Flex/backup options turning into breakout stars is what can make your season and that’s why we’re here.
Below, I’ll give you four sleeper wide receivers for you to consider ahead of your respective drafts. Considering that the average fantasy football league consists of 10-12 teams, I’ll define a sleeper for this exercise as someone currently falling in the 40-54 range of ADP (average draft position) according to FantasyPros. We’ll use PPR rankings for further clarity. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
ADP: WR41, 92 Overall
Pearsall is being hyped as one of the top second-year breakout candidates for the 2025 season and given the current state of the San Francisco receiver room, he could very well make a name for himself this year. The 2024 first-rounder was receiving buzz ahead of his rookie season before being shot in the chest during an attempted armed robbery just days before the start of the campaign.
Miraculously, he was able to step onto the field for his debut in Week 7 and ended up making solid contributions to the team, catching 31 targets for 400 yards and three touchdowns. It was the final two weeks of the season where he really flashed his potential for the organization and fantasy managers alike, going off for 141 yards and a touchdown in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions before recording 69 yards and score against the Arizona Cardinals in the season finale.
San Fran’s receiving core will look a lot different at the start of the 2025 campaign with Deebo Samuel now in Washington, Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from a torn ACL/MCL, and Jauan Jennings dealing with a calf injury while pushing for a new contract. Those circumstances are the perfect storm for Pearsall to immediately emerge as the team’s top receiving threat next to George Kittle and fantasy managers should take note.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
ADP: WR43, 96 Overall
As the Buffalo Bills make another attempt at finally breaking through the glass ceiling with Josh Allen, Shakir once again figures to play a major role in their success. The fourth-year pass-catcher out of Boise State has increased his production in each of his first three seasons in the league and emerged as the team’s top receiver in 2024.
He was by far Allen’s go-to option through the air last season, commanding a team-high 100 targets for 76 receptions, 821 yards, and four touchdowns. His 5.1 catches per game tied him for 16th-most in the league and he was well above league average in almost every other statistical category. That allowed him to finish the regular season as WR37 in PPR leagues with 12.2 fantasy points per game.
Signing a four-year contract extension in February, he factors to be a major part of the Bills offense for years to come and the sheer volume of targets he’ll receive this year makes him a top sleeper candidate in PPR leagues. He did suffer a high ankle sprain during training camp, but all signs point towards him being ready for their Week 1 showdown in primetime against the Baltimore Ravens.
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
ADP: WR45, 101 Overall
The Egbuka hype out of Bucs training camp rises with each passing day and he could very well end up as a top candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year if he lives up to it. The first-round pick turned heads during their joint practices with the Tennessee Titans and he’s already garnering high praise for his approach from the likes of Baker Mayfield, Lavonte David, and head coach Todd Bowles.
The Bucs took Egbuka with the 19th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft this past April, a move that was somewhat of a surprise as many anticipated them using the pick to address pass-rush concerns. However, his skills out of the slot was too good to pass up and the organization made the decision to drop him into an already talented receiver room. At 6’1”, 205 pounds, he is the latest product to come out of the Ohio State receiver factory and NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein even compared him to former teammate and current Seattle Seahawks rising star Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
A concern for Egbuka on the fantasy front is the number of touches that he’ll get, considering the fact that he’s walking into an already loaded skill position group that includes Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, and eventually Chris Godwin whenever he returns from his ankle injury. But the cream rises to the top and it’d be wise to secure a spot for Egbuka on your roster if you have the chance.
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
ADP: WR49, 118 Overall
Whoever emerges as the victor of the Anthony Richardson-Daniel Jones quarterback race in Indy will have some nice receiving weapons in Alec Pierce, Michael Pittman Jr., and Josh Downs, the third of whom becoming a consistent receiving threat for both the Colts and fantasy football users alike.
Downs followed up on a solid rookie campaign with an even more productive second-year season in 2024, hauling in 72 targets for 803 yards and five touchdowns while finishing as WR35 in PPR leagues with 13.1 fantasy points per game. His ability to move the chains for the Colts was also a skill as he recorded 40 first downs throughout the year.
Now entering his third season out of North Carolina, Downs is in line to crack 1,000 yards should he stay healthy and possibly emerge as WR1 in Indianapolis. He’s bound to outperform his ADP as one of the rising slot receivers in the NFL and fantasy managers should definitely keep an eye out for him in later rounds.